Jemimah Rodrigues: Just want to live a normal life

We know her for her powerful drives but Jemimah Rodrigues is still to learn how to drivehellipa car that is But who needs to drive when you are flown around in a private jet now and then Since September 2018 Rodrigues has scored more than 500 runs in 19 innings in T20I cricket and was ranked as high as No 2 in the ICC T20I Rankings This year she became the second Indian to score a century at the Womens Cricket Super League in England Petite and polite midday caught up with the Indian batter in Vadodara for an exclusive chat about cricket and other curiositiesEdited excerpts from the interviewYour Instagram is one of the most authentic fun accounts among players especially your Q amp A stories I believe you have some help with thatLaughs My brothers help me out with editing My eldest brother Enoch is into video editing I just like to be who I am on Instagram In the dressing room Im the kind of person who does a lot of masti so I didnt want to fake it on Insta and be serious Sometimes on tours Im off Insta so I send my brothers content and ask them to postThe video of you sitting in a miniature Audi toy car was just hilariousAudi was my middle brother Elis idea He does even more masti than me But its all of us together Honestly my whole family is crazy grinsIndias Jemimah Rodrigues in action v England during the Mumbai ODI on February 22 this year PicAFPDo you read stuff written about you on the internetSometimes when people tag me But sometimes I realise its not helping me and then I switch off I do that from Insta too I can get addicted When I have nothing to do Ill just take my phone and scroll scroll scroll And then I realise its 45 minutes True story Then I uninstall the app and I find it more peacefulYou are 19 and have to be professional about things even like Instagram How do you deal with thatI think as you play you realise that you have got to get that professionalism in you Sometimes I do feel like I just want to live a normal life with no restrictions and do what a 19year old would be doing But if you see playing has helped develop my character I am more careful about what I say in public that helps me develop So it has its benefits and Im really happy Im able to do thisVirat Kohli recently said in an interview that the Indian team lives in a royal jail Is that true for the womenThats true During the 2018 WT20 in the West Indies we actually felt like that We were under tight security and really got bored in the hotel Even when I started we went to South Africa then played three series back to back at home By the last one we were tired of seeing each others faces so we try to get out In New Zealand we hardly stayed in the room We would go for walks and that kept us fresh But in the West Indies it felt like what Virat Kohli said is right ndash its a fivestar jailComing to cricket You bat in different positions in the two formats Which do you preferOpening anytime I like playing the new ball I like playing in the Powerplay When I bat onedown there are usually only a few overs of that Powerplay So at onedown I have to build my innings Thats my role But opening I can go bangbangHave you had discussions with the team management about why you bat at No 3 in T20Is even though thats not your preferred natural gameIts not my preferred natural game but I can manage it and Im doing pretty well Its not like Im changing my game a lot Even if I opened after the Powerplay thats what I would do Theteam wants me to build an innings so people can revolve around me I go well with Smriti at No 12 and Harman Harmanpreet Kaur also at No 4 Im someone who can do that well at a good strike rate Its about what the team needs As long as the team is winning Im happy to play even lower downRight now you are a regular in the team but last year you werent so certain of your place How did that feelIt was at the Asia Cup June 2018 One game before that I scored a fifty versus Australia but in the Asia Cup I didnt get a chance to play In the nets I was struggling a bit but till now I dont know why I didnt get any opportunity I didnt ask anyone also I started doubting myself asking myself Am I good enough to be at the international level I came back from the Asia Cup and my mom could make out I was down She asked me what happened and I started crying I broke down I told her I dont know whats happening Im trying to be joyful and happy but I cant The next day after practice going back in the car with Dada her father he asked me are you ok And I broke down again Then he told me something that really touched me He said that if God has brought you this far he wont stop now He will finish what he startedSo we started working even harder on my batting hitting uppish shots improving my strike rate After that came the Challenger Trophy August 2018 and I lost my focus there I went out of the way to prove to people that I am the kind of a person who can score and I had no scores that time 1 0 0 10You still made the next tour of Sri Lanka September 2018 Yes and there Ramesh Powar the then coach sir came and asked me Jemi why did you start playing cricket I said because I love playing He said Youre trying to prove to people and you dont have to youre the best and thats why you are selected That made a lot of senseBut then you got a duck againYes I got one chance in the XI in the last ODI and again got 0 I thought sht whats happening I was unsure of my place so there was that insecurity plus I was doubting myself But before the T20Is Harry di Harmanpreet came up and told me Jemi dont worry you are playing all five T20s When she told me that it put me at ease In the first game I was nervous but I hit an early boundary off a leftarm seamer That boundary changed everything those 35 runs 36 in 15 balls I scored in that innings that changed everything I got two fifties later in the series but that one boundary was more important Now people ask me in interviews what advice would you give the Jemi of one year ago or two years ago I say this Play cricket for the reason you started playing cricket Pressure and all will come but never lose that joy you get while middling a ball and taking a catchThe author is a former India cricketer now a broadcaster and journalist She hosts the YouTube channel Cricket With Snehal and tweets SnehalPradhanCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates